Wireframing for Web Apps
Wireframes can sometimes become too much of an end in themselves. Of course we know better, but sometimes a good reminder can keep us focused.
Some choice quotes from this short article by Eric Kelly at the Contrast blog:
- "The whole point of working at this fidelity is the speed at which you can explore ideas with a reasonable degree of precision."
- "Everything means something." If you have an outline AND a fill AND a drop shadow, you are probably building in distinctions that don't actually mean anything.
- At low fidelity, you should be exploring, not refining.
- "The path to UI hell is sign posted 'Lorem Ipsum'." Using real data helps remind you that yes, that title will sometimes wrap, photos or data will not always fit in the box you have provided them.
- "Know your technology." Building out features takes time. Save advanced interactions/bling for the core element(s) of the application.
- "The goal is great delivery, not great deliverables. No one marvels at great deliverables except other UX designers"
- "Whatever works." If the sketch you've drawn on the whiteboard communicates the design well enough, don't waste time doing it up nice in OmniGraffle/Visio/Illustrator. Take a snapshot and move on.